Major arts funding announced

Funding of more than €1.5million has been announced for 24 artists and arts organisations in Cork.

The investment comes as part of the Arts Grant Funding scheme which will see €17.1 million invested in 218 recipients across Ireland. The number of successful applications is up from 194 last year.

Cork’s total funding comes in at €1,760,850 which will be invested in artists, organisations, and arts infrastructure across the city and county.

The scheme supports individual artists and organisations across various artforms to carry out multiple activities over a fixed period and focuses on ensuring there is a breadth of high-quality arts activity and programmes throughout the country. This round of funding relates to arts activities planned for 2026.

The announcement comes at a time of unprecedented demand for the Arts Council’s funding schemes, with 7,568 eligible applications received across all schemes last year.

Maura McGrath, Chair of the Arts Council, said: “Arts Grant Funding is a vital strand of our broader investment in the national arts infrastructure. It enables ambitious, sustained artistic work that connects communities across Ireland. As demand continues to grow, we're proud to support this year's recipients, but we also know many strong applications could not be funded.

“We will continue to advocate for the increased resources our vibrant sector urgently needs.”

The Cork recipients are Attic Projects (€180,000), Backwater Artists Group (€80,000), Baltimore Fiddle Fair (€92,500), Banshee (€82,000), Burke, Aoife (€11,600), Circus Factory (€69,000), Cork Arts Theatre (€129,000), Cork Opera House (€180,000), Cork Community Artlink Ltd (€80,000), Cork International Choral Festival (€42,000), Cork Orchestral Society (€45,000), Cork Puppetry Company (€15,000), Croi Glan Integrated Dance (€51,250), Dalen (Llyfrau) Cyf (€46,000), Fish Publishing (€17,000), Gare St Lazare Players Ireland (€146,000), Graffiti Theatre Company Ltd (€220,000), Greywood Arts (€30,000), Ionad Cultúrtha (€50,000), Lavit Gallery (€20,000), National String Quartet Foundation (€74,000), Ó Bhéal Go Béal (€13,000), Sample Studios (€80,000), and St Barrahane's Chuch Festival Of Music (€7,500).